January 10, 1974 – A State Highway Dept. snow plow from the Silverton side was caught and buried in a snowslide Saturday afternoon approximately four miles south of Red Mountain Pass. Guy Lewis of Silverton had been driving the truck down from Red Mountain and clearing the road of traffic, preparing to closing the pass. The Brooklyn and S.O.B. slides had slipped a little along the highway, and in trying to drive through the slip Lewis got the snowplow stuck. He radioed to the State Highway barn at Silverton. Tuffy Foster, supervisor of the Silverton department, told Lewis to return to the truck and stop digging out. No sooner had Lewis got back into his truck when the slides ran full blast and nearly buried the truck.

When Foster arrived at the scene with other help, they were able to spot a small part of the truck sticking out of the snow.

They quickly dug down to the right front door, and Lewis was able to climb out the window. He had spent approximately half an hour buried in the truck but was uninjured.

40 YEARS AGO

January 12, 1984 – The Colorado Division of Wildlife is baiting and feeding deer and elk in the Ridgway and Billy Creek areas. Since mid-December, elk at Billy Creek State Wildlife Area in northern Ouray County have been baited with hay to keep them out of the haystacks of adjacent landowners. About three tons of hay are being fed to the elk every morning by Wildlife Technician Pat Burke, who is in charge of the property. “It looks as if we have a little over 600 head of elk out here,” Burke said. “We hope by feeding them we can hold them on our property until spring when they can go to higher ground.” Burke is also putting out high-protein pellets for deer at Billy Creek. The pellets were specially formulated by Division of Wildlife researchers for deer and provide the deer with nutrients and energy needed to survive a harsh winter such as this one. “In winters such as this one,” said Mike Stone, area wildlife manager from Montrose, “loss of animals, especially fawns, just can’t be avoided.

We do what we can, but unfortunately we can’t save them all.”

30 YEARS AGO

January 13, 1994 – Ridgway has joined the international sled dog racing circuit this winter and will host the San Juan Mountain Sled Dog Challenge the weekend of Feb. 12-13. The Ridgway Area Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring this unique event, believed to be the first ever in Ouray County, and the Rocky Mountain Sled Dog Club is conducting the races. Mushers, their teams and lots of spectators are expected to crowd into town and up to the course at Fairway Pines Golf and Country Club. Over 50 teams could compete in four, six and eight-dog classes for a cash price of $3,000.

20 YEARS AGO

January 9, 2004 – Ouray County Road & Bridge Department Supervisor Bob Wolford is asking for patience as crews work to clear rural roads. At Monday’s Board of County Commissioners meeting, Wolford said he understood concerns expressed about snow-filled roads, but it “is winter and we do live in the mountains.” Wolford said the county has four snowplows and four graders in operation. As of last Monday, one snowplow was disabled in the Pleasant Valley area near Ridgway.

Wolford later explained that eight department employees have assigned routes to plow snow throughout the county. He asked for patience from rural residents, as each route can take up to five or six hours to complete. Greg Stacy, foreman for CDOT’s Ridgway district, said Wednesday that last weekend’s snow, and some avalanche debris, shut down traffic through Red Mountain Pass, Molas Pass and Coal Bank Pass on U.S. Highway 550. “All the passes in the area, including Lizard Head and Wolf Creek, were closed,” Stacy said.

“First time I’ve seen them all closed at the same time in a number of years.”

10 YEARS AGO

January 9, 2014 – On Saturday, Jan. 11, Acme Healing Center of Ridgway will officially open its doors for retail recreational marijuana sales. Marijuana will be sold by weight as well as in pre-rolled marijuana joints, edible snacks and a variety of other forms, including salves and lotions, to adults 21 years and older. The dispensary received state approval for its application to sell marijuana for recreational purposes on Monday, and Town Manager Jen Coates confirmed that the application had also been reviewed for compliance with town ordinances. Prices for retail marijuana will range from $65 to $85 for an eighth of an ounce, according to Acme General Manager Dave Niccum. The store currently sells the same quantity of medical marijuana for $37. “We are a brand new industry right now,” said Niccum.

“Demand is going to outweigh supply.”

Niccum said the store will also be holding an open house on Jan. 11 to provide information to the public. A chainsaw sculpture created by artist Bongo Love will be donated to Public Art Ridgway Colorado at 2 p.m. at Town Hall in Ridgway.